An industry expert said a series of cable mergers and acquisitions has left the market in fewer hands, just as it needs to embrace innovation.

On Tuesday, Bright House Networks, the major provider for Internet and cable television in Orlando and Tampa Bay, became the latest acquisition target when Stamford, Conn.-based Charter Communications announced its intent to buy the company.

It comes as the industry tries to face down challenges from tech-savvy consumers who are turning more to companies such as Netflix and Hulu for their television programming.

Atlanta-based analyst Jeff Kagan said the industry has been slow to compete with those new technologies.

“Am I worried about cable television?” he said. “I am.

“It’s not going away but they have never had to be innovative before and they never had to care about customer service before.”

Charter Communications will buy Bright House for $10.4 billion in cash and stock, pending regulatory approval and other conditions. The resulting company will become the second-largest in the industry, behind Comcast.

“We think the combination with Charter gives our employees, our customers and Advance/Newhouse the strongest prospects for the future,” Bright House CEO Steven Miron said in a news release.

Company officials sent the release in response to questions about what the merger means for Central Florida customers and employees. The release did not address the merger’s effects on customers.

Charter President and CEO Tom Rutledge said in the release that the deal expands its footprint into a new area.

“Bright House has built outstanding cable systems in attractive markets that are either complete, or contiguous with the New Charter footprint,” he said.

In J.D. Power customer-satisfaction ratings for 2014, Charter ranked behind Bright House in the South for overall satisfaction as well as each of the six categories listed: Performance and reliability, cost, billing, customer service, programming and communication.

In December, Bright House had announced it would increase broadband Internet speeds for customers. The boosts ranged from upping 10 megabit-per-second connections to 15 mbps and 90 mbps to 150 mbps, as well as adding new service at 300 mbps. Bright House also offers services such as home security and telephone. Originally a spin-off of Time Warner Cable, Bright House serves customers in Florida, Alabama, Indiana, Michigan and California.

Other conditions to be met before the deal is complete, according to the release: approval from Charter shareholders, “expiration of Time Warner Cable’s right of first offer for Bright House,” and the closing of a deal between Charter and Comcast that is designed to allow Comcast to acquire Time Warner. Comcast serves 3 million customers in Florida.

Charter last year had lost out on a bid to acquire Time Warner. Comcast's deal with Time Warner, which was announced in February 2014, has faced criticism from consumer advocates. Comcast said last month it expects federal review of the deal to last into the middle of this year.

Kagan said companies such as Charter and Bright House face a struggle against a growing number of competitors, including tech companies like Netflix and Amazon.